SACRED SITE IN OXFORD

Donald A. Windsor

Quite frankly, I do not know what this place was, so I call it a "sacred site" to give it a name.  It is located in the Town of Oxford, about 2 miles from Warn Pond (my posting of 2 June 2012).  I do not divulge its exact location for security reasons.

I have known about this site for at least three decades, but dismissed it as merely some historical stone foundations connected with a nearby quarry.  But recently, I have modified my attitude toward it, because it seems to be part of a series of stone piles running from the Brisben area, north up to Ludlow Lake. 

I suspect that more stone structures could be found in the hills surrounding Warn Pond.  However, almost all of this land is privately owned, so it is not easy to gain access. 

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MASTODON MATRIX PROJECT

Donald A. Windsor

At our Chenango Chapter meeting on Thursday evening, 7 June 2012, we examined soil taken from a mastodon excavation at Hyde Park.  President David Moyer divided a kilogram of soil among us and we carefully picked through it looking for the remains of plants, animals, stones, or unidentified objects.  Here are some candid photos of us in action.  Our results will be submitted to the Mastodon Matrix Project at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca.

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WARN POND

Donald A. Windsor

Warn Pond, in the Town of Oxford, lies between the Chenango River and State Route 12, about 1.9 straight-line miles south of the South Oxford Bridge.  It is also called Warn Lake.  It can be seen from Twin Bridges Road during the leafless seasons.

PHOTO

Warn Pond was the site where Thick Neck was caught and murdered by his fellow Indians.  The story is reported by Clark (1). 

Surface artifacts from this area were collected by Fred Stevens during the 1950s and were donated to the Oxford Historical Society in 2003.  They range from 3000 BC to 1000 AD (2).

The kettle-kame landscape around Warn Pond is a legacy of the glacier.  I suspect that Warn Pond was a kettlehole bog.  All this property is privately owned, so it is not readily accessible to exploration.

A site with four stone piles sits about three-quarter mile true north of Warn Pond, on a hill about 300 feet higher.  The photo below shows the view.  Warn Pond is behind those trees.

PHOTO

References cited:

1.  Clark, Hiram C.  History of Chenango County ...  Norwich, NY: Thompson & Pratt.  1850. Page 13.

2. Stevens, Fred.  The Warn Pond sites ...  Unpublished file.  2003.

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